Monday, July 23, 2012

Talking Finger Video Testimonial




We love when we get testimonials, and we do get quite a bit. But when someone takes the time to actually sit and make an unsolicited video testimonial, what can you say? A huge thanks to Lance Lubin of St. Petersburg Real Estate for such a great video!

You can find out more about Lance and his real estate company on his Facebook Page.

Thanks again, Lance.

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Doing some research on "The Competition"

All images have been "modified" slightly to protect the guilty.


Its been a long time since I went off on a rant but I have the need to explode after seeing this last Facebook page of a company that claims to do Social Media Marketing...sorry but here I go........

So I land on the page and I immediately start to see good and bad things everywhere...things that a person who "knows" Facebook should know better NOT TO DO. Without giving away all the details, I am seeing posts that are ineffective/there is a way better way to make them. I am also reading their posts about what to do and not to do on Social Media and they are COMPLETELY IGNORING their own statements!!! This is the equivalent of calling your dog "Stay".
So what really got me originally was when I clicked on the tabs that appear under the Cover Photo and it was an immediate...

Yes...the Face-Palm.

I loathe companies that think they know whats going on, they tell people the wrong information because that's what they learned and never looked to see if it was accurate. I hate the word Expert...for this reason.
noun
          A person who has special skill or knowledge in some particular field. 
We at TF feel more like doctors...why...because doctors continually practice to be better, they want to be like a sponge and absorb as much information that they can so they can share that information and improve the lives of others. THIS IS EXACTLY HOW WE FEEL. (Rant 1, there may be more...keep reading to find out)

So back on track...sorry....the tabs I was talking about...Check this out. 

THERE ARE 3 WELCOME TABS HERE ALONE! AND...when you click on the first one in the list, this happens. 



Are you kidding me???????????????? And just to be fair I tried it in Chrome, IE and Firefox and got the same result. (Yes I use a PC...but I own Apple stock so leave my computer choice alone!)

So what happens when you click on the other one???? O its just as juicy....Ready....
NOT ACTIVATED?
Really?!

I didn't forget about the FBML tabs that are there...That one was like this to me when I saw it.
FBML was RETIRED on June 1st of this year but its been a dead product since FB told the world in September of 2011 that they were getting rid of it. iFrames is where its at people, iFrames!

So you may be thinking to yourself..."What is the big deal if this page has some outdated tabs and non-working features." If you are thinking this, please open the DOS prompt, type in C:\format and hit enter.


NOW, for the rest of you who are still here, this is the answer.

(Yes I know there is a spelling error...I make these all the time and when I saw the pic I had to use it because, I can admit when I am wrong.) 

If you are going to choose a social media marketing company to help you navigate social...you have to VET them. Yes do your research...talk to your friends, family, cat, dog...whatever, just do your research. To a trained eye like mine I can pick apart a strategy or page in no time and quickly identify the positives and negatives....others can't and that's fine...just do some dang research...click on the tabs, if they don't go anywhere...THAT'S AN ISSUE....if you read their page or tweets or blog and you see them doing things that are just not "right"...THAT'S AN ISSUE...Are they a newer company and they already have way to many "likes"... THAT'S AN ISSUE (Because they probably bought them...those likes are not always the people who will want or need your service. This could be a rant but dinner is almost ready.)

So to wrap this up so I can eat something today here it is in a...
Yes..a Nutshell...

If your doctor told you to quit smoking while he was having a cigarette what would you think?

If I told you its OK to post on Facebook 15 times a day and then I tell your competition to only post 2 times a day maximum you would ask me "WHY are you saying 2 different things?"

Its simple people, vet them, review what they do. You have no idea the amount of phone calls we get from people who tell us horror stories...and trust me the stuff I spoke about above is a mosquito bite compared to some of the stuff we hear. 

If they are not practicing what they preach....then...
.



O, I forgot to mention...NO FRICKING THUMBNAIL IMAGES EITHER IN THE TABS!!!!!